Robin Roberts returns to 'GMA'

2/20/13 10:07 AM EDT

ABC’s Robin Roberts returned to “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, exactly five months since her bone marrow transplant.

"Hi, it’s Robin and I have been waiting 174 days to say this — Good Morning America," Roberts said as the show kicked off.

Roberts took a few minutes to thank those that helped her throughout her recovery. “Faith, family and friends have brought me to this moment, and I’m so full of gratitude,” she said.

"I share this morning, a day of celebration, with everyone," Roberts added.

GMA then played a taped welcome back message from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Roberts will sit down with the first lady in a few days, and the interview will air next Tuesday. ABC announced in a press release that the interview — Michelle Obama's first on a morning show — will focus on the third anniversary of the "Let's Move!" initiative and "and a new partnership that makes finding healthy, reliable recipes easy for busy parents, among other topics."

“The whole Obama family, we’ve been thinking about you and praying for you and rooting for you every step of the way,” Michelle Obama said in the message.

“So Robin, it’s great to see you back in that chair and we’re all excited to start our morning with you once again,” the president said.

After the clip aired, Roberts noted it was “very special for them to do that.”

The host was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood disorder, last year and began her medical leave from GMA at the end of August 2012.